Garden University at The Oregon Garden brings fun, educational opportunities to the public year round. With a variety of lectures, demonstrations and workshops intended to provide you with information, history, and techniques that can be applied to your own garden, travels, and daily lives.

September 22, 2011

2012 Garden University Schedule Announced

The Oregon Garden is proud to announce the 2012 schedule of speakers for Garden University. In its third year, Garden University is expanding to over 20 programs in a mix of lectures, workshops, and demonstrations. Gardeners of every level will find something to enjoy with the new schedule.

Lectures and demonstrations are free to Oregon Garden members and are just $15 for the general public. The ticket fee includes Garden admission on the day of the lecture. Workshops have program fees specific to the materials needed. Tickets to 2012 GU programs can be purchased by calling 503-874-8100 or at the Visitor Center. Members can order tickets by calling the Membership Department at 503-874-2533 or emailing membership@oregongarden.org

Schedule overview is below - follow our blog for more information about each program.

January 14, 2012 Amazing Costa Rica with Paul Freed Education Center at 1 p.m. This small Central America nation is full of natural riches. Lush rainforests, spectacular cloud forests, as well as beaches on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans highlight some of this country’s most sought-after destinations. The wildlife in Costa Rica is exciting and diverse and there are many opportunities for people to see them up close and personal. Travel with Paul as he explores Costa Rica’s natural wonders. Gaudy poison frogs, raucous monkeys, and magnificent bird life punctuate the adventure that he will share with you.

January 21, 2012 Rain Gardens Made Easy with Amy Whitworth Education Center at 1 p.m.Take storm water and turn it into a garden feature! Learn how, when and where to create rain gardens that are both functional and beautiful while benefiting wildlife and the insect population. Note: Rain gardens are not appropriate for all locations. Come and learn more.

February 11, 2012 Herbaceous Cooking with Kris Wetherbee Education Center at 1 p.m.Come discover the magic of culinary herbs as Kris Wetherbee imparts her passion and knowledge on using herbs from garden to table. Learn how you can turn ordinary dishes into something extraordinary through the use of fresh herbs. Wetherbee will share her top tips for growing herbs along with how to store fresh herbs and prepare them for cooking. Then taste for yourself the difference fresh herbs can make as she prepares and shares a recipe or two.

March 30, 2012 Herb Garden Favorites with Sue Goetz Oregon Garden Resort at 6 p.m.A five senses discovery in the herb garden. Herbs in the garden for fragrance, culinary, healing and more. Get to know the top ten favorite herbs as well as the many ways to grow and use them. Show and tell ideas and tips for harvesting, preserving, culinary and crafts all using aromatic herbs. Also included; Sue’s recipes that use “any” herb, recipes that personalize crafting, care and culinary items.

Join us as local nurseryman Roger Gossler takes you on an exploration of truly incredible show stopping shrubs and trees. Some plants are fillers, but these are the stars of the garden.

April 7, 2012 How to Grow Warm Season Crops in Cooler Climates with Willi Galloway Education Center at 1 p.m. The Pacific Northwest has a long frost-free season, but our temperate summers make growing warm season crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and basil a challenge. In this lecture Willi will discuss strategies for getting your best harvest ever, including how to warm up the soil earlier in spring and how to build a hoop house. She’ll also discuss the pros and cons of different season extension tools like cloches, Wall-O-Waters and cold frames and offer detailed growing plans for the most popular warm season vegetables. You’ll also learn the best tasting and most productive vegetable varieties for our region.

May 12, 2012Garden Gems with Dan Heims of Terra Nova GardensEducation Center at 1 p.m.Dan has been exposed to more plants, in more places “than your average bear”. This talk is a fun compilation of some of the newest, most exciting perennials, tropicals, and woodies seen today. Dan pulls together these plants from world-wide trips, botanical gardens, plant shows, and nurseries. Satisfy the plant nerd within!

Vertical gardening is the latest, most talked about garden trend. Whether you’re interested in edibles, ornamentals or a little of both, taking advantage of vertical spaces is an easy way to take your garden to the next level. Filled with inspiring photos and innovative approaches, Rebecca’s presentation will highlight a range of vertical gardening ideas, from vegetable towers made of recycled PVC pipes to stunning succulent walls.

June 9, 2012 Dirt Cheap Gardening with Marianne BinettiEducation Center at 1 p.m. A fun and creative approach to enjoying your garden more while spending less on maintenance, art and new plants. Learn kitchen cupboard remedies for slug control, aphid control and cheap ways to improve your lawn, dress up your landscape and boost your home's curb appeal. Handout included with class and book signing immediately following class.

June 23, 2012 Wicked Plants: The Deliciously Dark Side of the Plant World with Amy Stewart Education Center at 11 a.m. In her new bestseller, Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities, Amy Stewart takes on Mother Nature’s most appalling creations. It’s an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend. Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, Stewart presents tales of bloodcurdling botany that will entertain, alarm, and enlighten even the most intrepid gardeners and nature lovers.

June 23, 2012Wicked Bugs: Fearsome & Ferocious Creatures in Your Backyard & Beyond w/Amy Stewart Education Center at 1 p.m. Join Amy Stewart for a darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the insect world. You’ll meet creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. From the world’s most painful hornet, to the flies that transmit deadly diseases, to millipedes that stop traffic, to the “bookworms” that devour libraries, to the Japanese beetles munching on your roses, Wicked Bugs delves into the extraordinary power of six and eight-legged creatures. It’s a mixture of history, science, murder, and intrigue that begins—but doesn’t end—in your own backyard.

July 14, 2012 Clematis Myth Busting with Linda Beutler Education Center at 1 p.m. For every rule you may think you know about growing clematis, there is at least one exception, and sometimes many, many more! Not all clematis climb, not all clematis want their feet in the shade, and there isn't a single clematis that never needs or wants pruning. Join Rogerson Clematis Collection curator Linda Beutler as she untangles the snarl of misinformation about clematis cultivation.

August 11, 2012 Carnivorous Plants: Murderous Vegetables with Barry Rice Education Center at 1 p.m. We are used to a world where plants sit still and humans eat them. This is comfortable to us. But the world is a much stranger place if you look closer. There are several hundred species of plants that have taken a hankering to flesh. And in case you are complacent, you might want to know that several species live in Oregon! Learn about these murderous vegetables—how they kill, how they digest, and where they live. Carnivorous plants are amazing hunters—and we barely understand them!

September 21, 2012 Create your own bouquets using local and seasonal ingredients (WORKSHOP) Debra Prinzing Silverton Market Garden from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Debra will introduce you to new ways to grow, glean, and gather floral design ingredients – in every season. Her hands-on demonstration presents eco-friendly floral design ideas and techniques you can use again and again. Learn how to design with and prolong the vase life of your ingredients – flowers, branches, berries, pods and foliage. And gain design inspiration for filling your vases with backyard ingredients, farmer’s market flowers, and even the “weeds” gleaned from wild places. Debra will review a wide variety of sustainable design techniques, resources, and a recommended plant list for growing a cutting garden. The projects are adapted from The Five-Mile Bouquet, her recently published book with photographer David Perry (www.afreshbouquet.com).

September 22, 2012 Garden Photo Magic: Mastering your Point-and-Shoot Camera (WORKSHOP) David Perry Education Center/Oregon Garden from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.As you might imagine if you already know his work or have followed his blog, this amply illustrated lecture/workshop by David E. Perry promises to be a surreal combination of Dr. Phil type lets-get-real, truth-telling and Jerry Springer-ish nonsensical hype, all while entreating you to go ‘Barry White’ (slow hands, baby, slow eyes), on your underappreciated little point-and-shoot cameras. (OK, just kidding about Jerry Springer.)

Targeted at all levels of gardeners and photographic hobbyists who are still a bit intimidated by their digital point-and-shoot cameras, and/or single lens reflex cameras, this presentation assures a certain amount of laughter while learning, through playfully illustrated examples, dozens of anecdotes and more than a hundred groovy photos, all shared with generous dollops of irreverent fun.

Following the slide lecture portion of the workshop, David will work with you individually and in small groups, within the garden setting as you experiment with this fresh, new foundation of information, helping you learn to compose better storytelling shots and practice accessing many of those previously hidden little secrets within your camera.

September 22, 2012 The Five-Mile Bouquet: Seasonal, Local, and Sustainable Flowers Debra Prinzing and David Perry Education Center at 2 p.m.In this lecture, popular photographer and garden blogger David Perry and outdoor living expert Debra Prinzing will share their passion for local and seasonal flowers in an illustrated presentation. Their evocative storytelling approach introduces you to the many inspiring flower farmers and floral designers who are pioneering the "Green Flower Movement." Learn about the eco-friendly growing and design approaches taken by these innovative individuals. The stories and projects are adapted from their new book, The Five-Mile Bouquet.

September 29, 2012 Falling into Autumn: Plant Combinations for the Season of Decadence Lucy Hardiman Education Center at 1 p.m.Autumn is Mother Nature's last hurrah—the season when the garden is at it's apex—delicious, dynamic and decadent. Against a fiery backdrop of flaming foliage perennials and shrubs display bloom and berry before the inevitable transition into winter. Join us as Lucy discusses how to design expressive plants combinations for the fall garden with a focus on color and orchestrating colors schemes, maximizing textural effects and cultural compatibility.

November 10, 2012Bringing in the Greens with Sue GoetzEducation Center at 1 p.m. Playing upon the holiday tradition of bringing fresh cut greenery in for the winter holiday season. Harvest tips, favorite plants to cut from cedar and holly to unusual shrub cuttings , berries and the leftovers of a bygone season like dried hydrangea heads and alliums. Plus a how-to demonstration of an easy handwrapped wreath technique.

September 2, 2011

What is your favorite fresh summer dish? Fresh produce is one of the very best things about summer in Oregon. The variety of fresh fruits and vegetables allows us to experiment with new and exciting recipes.

Chef Justin, of Wellspring’s Vitality restaurant, will take you on a culinary adventure that dives in to healthy cooking and eating choices—healthy for you and healthy for the environment!

Join us for this cooking demonstration and taste Chef Justin’s amazing creations as well.